“Confucius Institute” at Novosibirsk State University: Teaching Chinese Today

Abstract

In 2023, the number of native Chinese language teachers at Novosibirsk State University and its partner universities in the Confucius Institute project returned to pre-pandemic levels, and the scale of educational activities and related projects such as a summer language camp in China were restored. The article discusses issues of staffing and measures in the field of improving the professional level of teachers, features of teaching Chinese language (ways of involving Chinese teachers in vocational, secondary and additional education programs, models of interaction between Chinese and Russian teachers such as joint classes, independent classes with separate presentation of different types of educational material within one course or teaching certain aspects of the Chinese language). The activities of the Confucius Institute in the field of holding competitions in the Chinese language and the results of students’ participation in competitions of various levels are also shown. Stimulating the competitive activity of students, according to the authors, is an important additional condition for the development of their language skills and achievements in competitions which indicate a high level of language training provided by the Confucius Institute centre.